NHL GMs talk safety after Stars forward Peverley's collapse

The scary incident involving Dallas Stars forward Rich Peverley Monday night was the top topic of conversation at the NHL general managers’ meetings Tuesday.

Peverley, who had issues with an irregular heartbeat this season, collapsed on the bench during the first period of the Stars’ game against the Columbus Blue Jackets Monday after suffering what was termed a “cardiac event.” He regained consciousness after chest compressions and a shock with a defibrillator. He is in stable condition.

The incident hit close to home for Mathieu Schneider, the former Detroit Red Wings defenceman whose teammate Jiri Fischer collapsed on him on the Wings bench in November 2005 after Fischer had a cardiac episode.

“He is a big man and he collapsed right on me. That was one of the scariest moments of my career. Thank goodness (Wings doctor) Tony Colucci was right there at the time. It was shocking, particularly (because) Fisch was just an incredible athlete, in amazing shape,” said Schneider, attending the GMs meetings as the special assistant to the executive director of the NHLPA.

“He just kind of collapsed right on the bench. At first, you had no idea what was happening, but then he started convulsing. It was real scary for everyone. Tony Colucci was right behind our bench and was on top of him before anyone knew. It was a great effort to save him.”

Fischer recovered, but never played again. He’s now the Wings’ director of player development.

Colucci is now the co-chair of the NHL’s Emergency Care Task Group of the Medical Standards Subcommittee which helped establish the NHL’s emergency medical standards that potentially helped save Peverley’s life.

It’s alarming to contemplate another incident unfolding as it did Monday night, but the NHL has developed a protocol to deal as best it can with such extraordinary events. Those elements include having two doctors on standby, positioned no more than 50 feet from the players bench.

“We’ve had a number of scary incidents over the years, probably 10-15 years. I think that has helped us compile medical emergency standards that we have in place in every building, emergency medical kits and we have standards and requirements for physicians and medical resources at the building,” said NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly. “Obviously in this instance, the fact that the doctors have to be proximate to the playing surface with immediate access to the players bench or the playing surface is important. Thank God it worked out the way it did … everything played out and transpired exactly as you would draw it up and luckily we had a fortunate result.”

Schneider credited the league for staying on top of player safety for emergency situations.

“The league has done a great job over the years to make sure every safety net is there and available to the guys. In the two instances, I’ve known the doctors have literally saved the players’ lives,” he said.

“They are tremendous doctors and you can’t say enough for having them there.”

Former New York Rangers first-round draft pick Alexei Cherepanov wasn’t so lucky. The 19-year-old collapsed on the bench during a game in the Kontinental Hockey League in 2008. He could not be revived. The defibrillator on hand didn’t have a working battery and it apparently took doctors 12 minutes to arrive on the scene.

The Stars, Blue Jackets and the league did the right thing in cancelling the rest of the game Monday night. Everybody’s mind was on Peverley. The game will be rescheduled. With the precedent set after the Nashville Predators-Red Wings game was postponed because of Fischer’s collapse, the Stars-Blue Jackets game will start afresh with Columbus leading 1-0, the score at the time of Peverley’s incident.

“As a player, and being close to your teammates, it’s too taxing to go back and play … I would think you would be playing half-heartedly and I would say it would be both teams. Even though your opponents may not be close to that player, it’s a brother. That’s the way you look at it,” said Schneider.

NHL vice-president of player safety Brendan Shanahan was also on that Wings team.

“Being involved with it and having gone through it myself, it wasn’t just the Detroit Red Wings, it was also the Nashville Predators were shaken up. It’s a very small hockey community, we all know each other, and there were guys last night on Columbus that are friends with Rich Peverley,” said Shanahan.

“The blueprint was there, these guys can’t play. Whether he’s in stable condition or not, all you want to do as a player in that situation is get out of your equipment, get to the hospital and support your teammate.”

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